Steward confirmed to replace Warwick also has a past with Verstappen

The former F1 driver who now acts as a steward has been suspended for this weekend, after his 'unauthorised media comments' on the incident between George Russell and Max Verstappen that took place in Barcelona.

He will be replaced by another former driver, Enrique Bernoldi. The Brazilian competed in Formula 1 in the 2002 and 2003 season for Arrows, however, he couldn't score a single point. He also competed in IndyCar in the 2008 season.

Bernoldi will not be present at the track, but 'will operate remotely from the FIA Remote Operations Centre in Geneva.'

At Arrows, Bernoldi was a teammate of the Jos Verstappen, and was informed by Helmut Marko, then working at Arrows, that Verstappen must not beat him or else he would be out. He believed the team was favouring Verstappen, a sentiment he disagreed with. It even went so far that he started speaking only in Italian to ensure that Jos could not understand him.

Bernoldi also worked this season during the Saudi Arabia GP, where some believe Max Verstappen received a questionable five-second penalty for his incident with Oscar Piastri after the start.

Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Warwick told a betting site: “Should he have done what he did, in Turn 5 with George Russell? Absolutely not. Did he get a penalty for it? Yes. He got 10 seconds and three points, which only brings him one point away from a race ban."

For the same reason, another former driver, Johnny Herbert is also no longer working as a steward this year.

Sky Sports analyst Karun Chandhok has defended Warwick since then. "This is a shame and a bit confusing," the Indian said, while Will Buxton marked it's a 'sticky situation'.

The previous season, Warwick also talked to GPblog back in 2024. He was not paid for that interview. Read that story here!